Rack, Shack and Benny (episode)
Rack, Shack and Benny is the fourth episode of VeggieTales and the first Easter special of the show. It's a retelling of biblical story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, with elements from Terry Gilliam's films. Plot The story is told by Grandpa George and takes place at the Nezzer Chocolate Factory where the employees work hard all day making chocolate bunnies on an assembly line. In celebration of selling their two-millionth chocolate bunny, Mr. Nezzer announces that for 30 minutes all employees may eat all the bunnies they want. While all other workers ravenously devour the chocolate, Shack (Junior Asparagus) convinces his friends Rack (Bob the Tomato) and Benny (Larry the Cucumber) to abstain. Junior emphasizes his stance by singing a lullaby called "Think Of Me" that his mom taught him. When Mr. Nezzer leaves his office only to find all the workers sick except for Rack, Shack, and Benny, the three are rewarded and promoted to Junior Executives. The following day, Mr. Nezzer calls the trio into his office and tells them that he has constructed a 90-foot (27 m) high bunny which he intends to force all employees to bow down to. Through singing of the "Bunny Song," Mr. Nezzer reveals that he believes nothing in the world (such as God, church, school, healthy food, and family) is more important than the bunny. Those who refuse to prostrate before the statue will be thrown into the factory's furnace. Disagreeing with Mr. Nezzer, while all the other employees obey, Rack, Shack, and Benny refuse to sing the song and bow down. Mr. Nezzer confronts the trio and demands that they sing the song, but the trio again refuse and sing a reprise of "Think of Me." Mr. Nezzer is touched but still tells the guards to take them away. Meanwhile, Laura Carrot plans their rescue. After being pushed down the furnace chute, Laura Carrot rushes in and rescues them with her delivery truck and tries to flee, with two guards pursuing her. Eventually they are recaptured and Rack, Shack, and Benny fall into the furnace. While Mr. Nezzer gloats, Mr. Lunt looks inside and notices a fourth person in the furnace who is really shiny and none of them are being incinerated. Shocked, Mr. Nezzer tells them to come out and the trio emerge from the furnace unscathed. Mr. Nezzer realizes that it is God who saved the friends and he apologizes for his actions with the trio forgiving him. Characters * Bob the Tomato * Larry the Cucumber * Junior Asparagus * Rack, Shack and Benny (played by Bob, Larry and Junior) * Grandpa George * Laura Carrot * Mr. Nezzer * Mr. Lunt * George * The Peas * Lisa Asparagus * Mike Asparagus Songs * VeggieTales Theme Song * Good Morning George * Think Of Me * The Bunny Song * Think Of Me (Reprise) * Silly Songs with Larry: Dance of the Cucumber * The Bunny Song (Reprise) (also called as "I Tried to Be Patient") * Stand Up! * What Have We Learned (with Larry singing it) * Stand Up! (Reprise) Production The episode was based off the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendigo from the book of Daniel, and was made in Big Idea's new headquarters, a bankrupt screw machine factory. Development was very difficult and ambitious for the company at the time. Ten people worked on the episode with only 4 computers and towards the end, everyone suffered exhaustion. Home media VHS * Word Entertainment/Everland Entertainment (original release) * Lyrick Studios (August 25, 1998) * HiT Entertainment/WEA (June 18, 2002) DVD * HiT Entertainment/WEA (June 18, 2002) Other Languages * الخضروا مصنع (Arabic) ** Rack, Shack 和 Benny (Cantonese) ** Herra Nekkulan suklaatehdas (Finnish) ** Drei Männer im Feuerofen (German) ** Ο Ρακ, ο Σακ και ο Μπενι (Greek) ** Unknown (Hebrew) ** だれに従ったらいいの？(Japanese)) ** 火坑大逃亡 (Mandarin) (Taiwanese) ** Rack, Shack og Benny (Norwegian) ** Rack, Shack e Benny (Portuguese) (Brazilian) (1st dub) *** Os Três Amigos (Portuguese) (Brazilian) (2nd-3rd dubs) ** Rack, Shack e Benny (Portuguese) (European) ** Šal, Mašna in Beno (Slovenian) ** Drac, Sac y Benny (Latin Spanish) ** Rack, Shack và Benny (Vietnamese) Fun Facts Moral * Stand up for what you believe is right. * Don't force others to do something they disagree with or believe is wrong. Explanations * A nimble scooter is a scooter with a cargo tray on the front. * Kennebunkport is a town in Maine. Trivia * This episode was the first for several things: ** The first appearance of George, Mr. Lunt, and Mr. Nezzer and also the female Asparagus Singers. ** Laura's first speaking role. ** This is the first time Mike and Lisa Asparagus appear on the countertop. Here, they are seen in the silly song Dance of the Cucumber. ** The first episode where they start using peas (American Peas). *** However, in the case of the French Peas, Jean Claude and Philippe wouldn't debut until Dave and the Giant Pickle, and Phillipe wouldn't be renamed inl A Very Veggie Christmas. ** The first episode to feature the kitchen oven, which can be seen during the silly song. ** This is the first full length episode of VeggieTales, as well as the first to be somewhat musical based. ** The first episode not to have Archibald Asparagus, Lovey, Scallion #1, Dad Carrot, The Blue Wind-Up Lobster, Lenny Carrot, Scooter, The Peach, Jimmy and Jerry Gourd and Pa Grapesince their debut appearances. *** However, in the case of Lenny, there are worker carrots resembling him, who appear in the scene where Mr. Nezzer has all his employees bow down to the big bunny statue. **The first episode Tom Danen worked on. ** The first episode not to have someone screaming. Strangely, Rack, Shack and Benny don't scream when they are pushed down the chute nor when they fall down into the furnace. ** The first episode to have different lighting/shading. This was likely a result of Big Idea relocating their offices. ** The first episode to mark a transition of the animation's movements to smoother animation. However, almost every scene in this episode still had bad, jerked animation like in the previousthree episodes (probably due to being the hardest episode to produce), and smoother animation applied to only very few scenes in the latter half of the episode. *** The next episode had more scenes of smoother animation throughout. ** This is the first episode to open at a different spot of the countertop (in this episode, it opens at a spot all the way to the left edge of the countertop where the kitchen sink ends, and it's also the same spot where the silly song was set up), and it's also the first episode to open with a character alone. ** This is the first episode to have someone else singing the What Have We Learned Song, possibly due to Bob having smashed the regular version in the previous episode. *** This is also the only episode rendered in SoftImage to have such a thing. ** This is the first episode to be remastered in high quality directly from its source project files in 2002, as well as the first episode to in conjunction be re-released as part of the VeggieTales Classics line that year. ** This is one of the 2 episodes rendered in Softimage to have Bob the Tomato crying. This happens to Rack after Shack tells him and bunny to remember not to eat too much chocoalate bunnies The other episode where tBob the Tomato cries is in Madame Blueberry during the closing countertop * This is the last time Junior's bedroom (in its original design) was seen. Here, it is seen during Junior's infancy memories. In further episodes, Junior's bedroom was redesigned. * Bob states there's also a toaster on the countertop. ** There actually was a toaster character from a magazine advertisement for the show's premiere episode who was going to appear in the show but was scrapped. * When the first animations came through of Larry wearing the oven mitt, Mike Nawrocki stated that the flowers were flying all around Larry. * This episode can be featured in Heroes of the Bible!: Stand Up, Stand Tall, Stand Strong!, God Loves You Very Much, and Growing Confident Kids!. * Dance of the Cucumber will return in Very Silly Songs!, The Ultimate Silly Song Countdown, Heroes of the Bible!: Stand Up, Stand Tall, Stand Strong!, Sing-Alongs: Dance of the Cucumber, Very Veggie Fun!, Happy Together!, and If I Sang A Silly Song. * This episode was said to be the hardest episode that Big Idea had ever made. * The scene where the ending song is about to end was going to be a pull out shot, but due to money running low and the episode's deadline, the production team had no choice but to use quick cut scenes. * This is the second time Larry said God Made You Special, and He Loves You Very Much by himself, the first was in God Wants Me to Forgive Them!?! and this is the only time he said it and goodbye to the viewer by himself. * In the commentary track for this episode, Phil explains that it was difficult to stick a tie on Bob without it going into his mouth as his mouth almost moved to the ground. * The original version of the Bunny Song features lyrics about loving the Bunny more than your parents as well as not going to church or school due to it being "for sissies." Due to children singing the song, letters from parents began flying in to Big Idea, after which Phil states two new versions of the song were written to correct the problem: one for Very Silly Songs!, and one rewriting the lyrics entirely for future releases. * After the episode was released, fans wrote to Big Idea saying that it was inconsiderate for Larry to just walk away and leave Bob in the sink. Phil Vischer stated on this episode's DVD commentary that Larry left Bob, not intentionally, because he is an absentminded character and sometimes forgets things. * Tim Hodge read the interactive storybook version on Esther... The Girl Who Became Queen. * On the original 1995 release (which also included the original version of "The Bunny Song"), there's a variant of the Big Idea logo where Bob says offscreen "I'd like to get out now!". But since the 1998 re-release (which included the newer lyrics to "The Bunny Song"), it's replaced with the 1997-2005 Big Idea logo without Bob's line. * This is one of six VeggieTales episodes (the others being Larry-Boy! and the Fib from Outer Space!, Josh and the Big Wall!, Larry-Boy and the Rumor Weed, Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Noah's Umbrella, Pistachio - The Little Boy That Woodn't and The League of Incredible Vegetables) to be reprinted in 2015, shortly after the character designs just changed when the Netflix series started in November of 2014. ** Though all six reprinted covers use the original looks of the characters, this one has a different cover art. * Some newsfeeds from the mid-90s that were talking about VeggieTales had shown an alternate (or at least, prototype) boxart of this episode, where it shows Rack, Shack, & Benny on fire with the subtitle "One fiery furnace - three brave veggies!" This was changed in the final print, probably due to violent references.1 Remarks * There are two different versions of the original 1995 VHS having some of the scenes at the factory being rendered at a different frame rate: One version has some of these factory scenes rendered at a lower framerate (which was strangely carried into the DVD releases of the episode, as acknowledged by both Phil and Mike), and another version has these scenes rendered at a faster frame rate (which was also carried into the 1998 Lyrick Studios re-release). ** The former (with lower framerates) can be really difficult to find, despite also being carried into the Mandarin Chinese dub of the episode. *** Despite wearing an oven mitt on his head (not seeing where he's going), Larry is hopping forward to the right direction of the countertop after saying "I think we need Qwerty for this one." However, after the camera cuts to a closeup of Bob and he's looking at that direction, Larry ends up hopping forward to the kitchen sink, which is obviously not the direction he was hopping. If he were to hop toward the kitchen sink, he should've hopped toward the camera and not to the right, with Bob's eyes following that way. Since he went to the right edge of the screen, he could've actually bumped into the wall where it ends and fallen backward. *** The oven mitt Larry wears on his head is extremely out of scale, clearly showing that it is too small for a human hand to fit in. *** Larry states that he'll never feel the ocean breeze with his hair, despite the previous Silly Songstating he never had hair. *** The gate's purpose is negated as Laura could easily fly over it though she is polite enough not to. *** There's no conceivable way the boxes can close at the bottom without breaking the bunnies. *** The conveyor belt is all good bunnies, but then the bad bunny conveniently appears in time for the furnace chute shot. *** Considering Nezzer Chocolate typically cranks out 14,638 bunnies a day, the factory has only been open less than 5 months (138 days) by the time it cranks out the 2,000,000th bunny. Shouldn't the 30 minute occasion have been celebrated once the factory cranked out 5,000,000-10,000,000 bunnies? *** Mike states on the commentary that Rack and Benny crying was their first use of crying technology, when in actuality such technology was first used in the second episode. *** While thanking Mr. Nezzer for their "lovely gift of chocolate," Rack, one of the members of the trio, pronounces "Chocolate" as "Choc-O-Late." *** As Mr. Nezzer states he almost forgot everything his mother told him, it is hinted that his mother had passed away before. *** Several websites state this episode was released in 1998, which is false. *** In The Mystery of Veggie Island computer game, Mr. Nezzer says that it's his first time meeting them. This suggests that Rack, Shack & Benny took place in the Bible, before this. *** During the closing countertop on the shot where Qwerty pulls up the verse, his close-up shot was reused from God Wants Me to Forgive Them!?!. However, in the original foreign cut as seen in the original Latin Spanish, Arabic and Japanese dubs, his close-up shot was restored from this episode (Rack, Shack and Benny) itself, or at least shot in a different session. *** In the Mandarin Chinese dub of the episode, during the closing countertop, after Larry finishes reading the verse, the screen freezes, then cuts close up to Qwerty (despite the still reused from Where's God When I'm S-Scared?), and then a clip of Larry from the closing countertop of God Wants Me to Forgive Them!?! was plastered over the screen, just before returning to the shot with Larry hopping back to the left of the sink. **** This edit was done to avoid localization with the English text on Qwerty's screen. *** In the original Latin Spanish dub, this is one of two episodes (the other being Are You My Neighbor?) where the letter sender is changed.﻿ *** Both Arabic dubs and the Taiwanese Mandarin dub (although after the closing countertop) are the only dubs to dub Bob's, "I'd like to get out now!" at the end. **** Speaking of which, the Latin Spanish dub has no Big Idea logo after the credits and gives Bob a line after Larry walks away, and the Japanese dub shows the Life Entertainment logo instead of the Big Idea logo. *** When the episode was advertised on The Baltimore Sun Wednesday, 29 Nov 1995 newspaper article, Page 167,2 "Benny" was misspelled "Bennie", which is a girl's name. Goofs * Phil stated on the audio commentary that the factory was built entirely by Chris Olsen and took weeks to build due to being the biggest set created at the time. As such, this episode has several animation errors (following the second episode), many of which take place in the factory alone. * In the opening countertop, for a split-second before Larry says "Oh, ya don't say!", a question mark appears on Larry's mouth. * On the fence scene at the beginning, one shadow appears out of nowhere as the camera pans toward George slowly. * The ceiling of the factory flickers as Mr. Lunt enters it through use of the platform after lecturing Laura for being late. On a similar note, a shadow behind him disappears as he sinks into the bottom. * Some of the bunnies' ears flicker as the hands stick them on the bunnies. * The machine 'painting' the bunnies' eyes on flickers as Rack, Shack and Benny are singing behind the belt during the side shot. ** Bob's mouth clips through that machine as well. * Rack, Shack and Benny hover slightly above the ground in the shots showing them working behind the conveyor belt. * When Laura takes off with the bunnies, the bunnies on the conveyor belt disappear instead of fall. * In the scene where Laura is flying her truck through the factory at the end of Good Morning George, she and her truck clip through one of the pipes. * In the scene where the television screen shows up, the bunnies disappear on every last frame on the conveyor belt. * As Mr. Nezzer opens the door following the 30-minute celebration of selling the 2,000,000th bunny, the workers aren't there but then magically appear in the next few shots. * While Mr. Nezzer and Mr. Lunt are talking with the trio about them being Junior Executives, a pole spawns out of nowhere, which Shack clips through. * Phil states that there's a missing frame in the shot where Mr. Nezzer shows his office. * As the trio are standing in front of the closed doors of Mr. Nezzer's office upon entering, only Shack's shadow moves. * Mr. Nezzer's suit clips into his body towards the end of the Bunny Song. * While not a goof, before the bunny statue is revealed, Shack's mouth is just above his tie, although it's easy to see why it looks like his mouth is missing. * When Mr. Nezzer moves the front podium toward Rack, Shack and Benny (just before he says "I said, it's time to sing, the Bunny Song."), one of the worker peas on the bottom left of the screen is standing up (or not bowing) and facing toward the viewer. * Before the fade to black, all the employees (including Laura) are missing bunny emblems on their hats. * When Mr. Nezzer says, "Now I didn't ask for much, just one simple little thing," he clips through a pipe. On a similar note, something flickers twice in the same shot. * While Mr. Lunt is sending the trio into the furnace, you'll notice that there's a gap above his head. Phil stated this was a rendering mistake and that there was supposed to be a catwalk there. * The furnace opens up with a dual door, then a single door, and then becomes an open hall with no door. * In the closing countertop, Larry loses the oven mitt he wore on his head earlier in the beginning of the episode. * In the first few copies of the original 1995 VHS release (with the slower framerates), during the end credits, the audio waves of the saxophone instrument in the reprise for Stand Up! were accidentally inverted, meaning it is heard lower in volume when you switch the VHS audio settings to MONO. This was corrected in later re-issues of the episode. Real-World References * Larry's quote before Bob rescued him (and also got stuck) was based on Dorothy's saying from MGM's "The Wizard of Oz", during which she says those words and clicks her ruby slippers to send her back home. Fast Forward * Larry would later wear oven mitts in VeggieTown, though he can see since the mitts have shrunk. * Mentions of VeggieBeat and falling into the sink would be spoken of in a later episode. Quotes * Mr. Lunt: Actually, boss, I think that tomato is sitting. * Rack : I'm standing! * Mr. Lunt : Sitting. * Rack: Look, this is sitting and this is standing. I'm standing. * Mr. Lunt : Okay, he's standing. * Laura: Which way do I go? * Rack: Go up, go up! (Laura drives downward) Or down. * Laura: Sorry, sir! Can't let you cook my buddies! * Mr. Nezzer: Guards, get them! (guard vehicle engines start up) * Laura: Hang on, guys! * Mr. Nezzer: Well, what do you think? * Rack: Um, what would happen, say, if someone didn't quite agree with everything in that song, so they didn't, um.. didn't sing it. What would happen? * Mr. Nezzer: What's that over there? * Shack: That's the furnace. * Mr. Nezzer: What's it for? * Benny: Well, that's where the bad bunnies go. * Mr. Nezzer: Let's just say in my mind, if you don't bow down and sing the song, you're a bad bunny. * Rack : You don't mean-- * Mr. Nezzer: But I'm sure that won't happen. It's almost time for the ceremony, I'll see you out there. * Mr. Nezzer: What are your names, boys? * Rack: I'm Shadrach. * Shack: I'm Meschach. * Benny: I'm a bumblebee, Abendyboo, I'm Benny. * Laura : (singing) Good morning, George, how are you? I hope you're feeling fine. I'd love to stay and talk but it's almost eight o'clock, and I haven't got the time! * George: See you later. * Laura: (singing) Because we work real hard at the chocolate factory. We start at eight and we don't get lunch till 3. I've got to drive a truck to make a buck. So I can send it home to my family!